Heather James Fine Art, in collaboration with Willetts Design & Associates, is pleased to present Living with Art, an exclusive series of interior vignettes designed by Dorothy Willetts. This month highlights the Living Room Vignette with art by Pablo Picasso and Michael Goldberg.
Picasso, Picasso, Picasso!!! How cool is that? I am still completely star-struck when it comes to some art and the artists that create it. It can still make me weep, laugh out loud, or just get super jazzed. And that’s a great thing; it’s one of the many reasons I love art and strive to incorporate it in my interiors, be it my house or yours. These three Picasso lithographs from the Fumeur Series, were conceived around August of 1964. There is speculation that the man drawn in these are actually self-portraits of Picasso since they all show a man wearing a striped blue shirt similar to the one that Picasso frequently wore, and he also happened to be a smoker. They are vibrant examples of his somewhat limited work in color acquatint making use of colors like yellow, blue, pink, and red.
Oddly enough, the other work in this room, Landscape (On the Way to New Lisbon, NY), by artist Michael Goldberg was also painted in 1964. Goldberg’s use of the same color palette as Picasso’s and the Abstract Expressionist style of this piece make it the perfect complement to Picasso’s pieces. An Abstract Expressionist painter from the New York School, Goldberg was a WWII vet who earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. As I learned about Goldberg, I found him to be an incredibly interesting man. Goldberg loved the improvisational nature of Jazz music, and the beauty of Italy, and I think that his work reflects his life. He produced art that includes everything from the brutality of the war he fought in to the beauty of music and the romantic countryside he loved.
To furnish this room I chose to look towards the modern architectural style of Ray & Charles Eames. The original Eames lounge chair and ottoman were re-upholstered in a metallic cream colored Edelman leather. The cream colored Ceruse Oak console table underneath the three Picassos repeats the same color-way but has a more simplified and linear design. I added a second Ceruse Oak piece; a blue leather arm chair that is also reminiscent of mid-century design. To counter-balance these pieces, I wanted to bring in some more organic shapes. The two fantastic hand-cast bronze side tables are done in a Ferric Patina and add a rich brown color to the room. Both light fixtures also act as organic elements in the room. The design inspiration for the floor lamp is the seed pods from the Eucalyptus tree. The small bronze table lamp gives off a beautiful soft light that reflects the bronze and gilded gold metal finish. And the jute wall to wall floorcovering provides a textural but neutral base for the room.
Dorothy Willetts
Principal
Willetts Design & Associates